W. Tennis has two Ivy tests over weekend

After splitting two matches with Dartmouth and Harvard last weekend, the Penn women's tennis team returns home this weekend looking for a sweep against two of the better teams in the Ivy League. The Quakers (7-5, 3-1 Ivy League) can solidify their second-place position in the conference with wins over Yale today at 2:00 p.m. and Brown tomorrow at noon at the Lott Tennis Courts. Although the Red and Blue defeated both teams in 4-3 thrillers last year, the Quakers fell victim to them earlier this year at the ITA Regional team tournament. Now Penn is hoping to gain its revenge in the regular season, which bears greater importance, as these games counts in the conference standings. "It is going to be tough," Penn coach Cissie Leary said. "We have to stay in a good frame of mind." Although the Elis (5-6, 1-2) are a sub-.500 team, they should present a challenge to the Quakers. Yale's two Ivy losses came at the hands of Brown, in a 4-3 struggle this week, and Cornell, by the score of 5-2 last week. Yale does, however, boast a 6-1 victory over Princeton. The young Yale team features two freshmen -- Somer Khanlarian and Sara Naison-Phillips -- and junior captain Katherine Rhee in the top three singles positions. Both freshmen were nationally ranked last season, and Rhee has been a force in the Ivy League for three years. All three players boast better than .500 records. Without injured captain Preety Sorathia, the Quakers newly adjusted singles lineup led by sophomore Lara Afanassiev, freshman Karen Ridley and freshman Julia Feldman matches the Elis' in inexperience. The bottom of the Yale lineup is a weak point, creating an advantage for Penn's deep squad. The Quakers also should have the edge at the doubles positions with three strong teams, while Yale's tandems post below-par records. The Bears (8-5, 2-1) impressive recruiting campaign has brought two freshmen foreigners to their top singles positions. Saranga Sangakkara from Sri Lanka and Julia Martynova from the Ukraine were both highly ranked in their respective countries and have succeeded at the college level. Brown, a team without any seniors, features two more freshmen at the No. 3 and No. 4 singles spot. "It is a very big weekend for us," said Leary. "These are two very important Ivy League matches."